Thursday, September 3, 2015

Traffic choking is common
is every other city ~in roads like OMR, often vehicles
get struck – and in some signals, one has to wait for long – there is no
guarantee that vehicle could pass in one green as it could close when even half
of the queued vehicles could not pass through !

This is a photo that
appeared in Aug 2009 in - www.treehugger.com –
instructing that idling of vehicle is not allowed. If one stops at Red signal,
engine should be stopped and not allowed to idle. Don’t restrict yourself to what you do or
what you see around. In cold and hot climates people may let their cars idle to
achieve a comfortable temperature while they wait in their home. Some people
also believe that it is better for their car to let the engine warm up, a myth perhaps.

Another article in Daily
Mail in Sept 2008 reported that - Motorists could face £20 spot fines if they
leave their engines running while stuck in traffic. It stated that Traffic
wardens will be able to issue the penalties - after
a warning - in a bid to cut down on pollution. That was
about a pilot scheme in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, targeting areas where exhaust emissions build up
unnecessarily, such as rail crossings and town centres.But drivers branded the
plans as yet another round of the war on the motorist. The AA pointed out that
to switch off an engine and start up again within a minute actually uses more
fuel than letting it idle.

The Department for
Transport said it had issued guidance to councils stressing that they should
not issue a £20 penalty notice without first giving drivers a warning.Rule 123
of the Highway Code says: 'If the vehicle is stationary and likely to remain so
for more than a couple of minutes, you should switch off the engine to reduce emissions
and oil pollution.

~ this article in
‘thisismoney.co.uk’ seeks to bust the myths on turning off the engine in
traffic. Here is the article partially reproduced :

I've noticed more and more
drivers will cut off their engine in traffic, which I suppose is down to modern
cars being fitted with 'stop-start' technology.I don't have this on my car but
wonder if I should be turning off the engine more often when I stop.I'll do it
in a long traffic jams when you don't move for several minutes but have always
thought doing it more often will damage the engine and / or actually use up
more fuel.

Stop start: When does it
make sense to turn your engine off?AA spokesman Luke Bosdet replied: The rule
of thumb is that if you're going to let the engine idle for more than a minute
or two then it is probably worth turning it off.Doing so more often than that
can be arduous for both driver and the engine, and it's important to remember
that each time you fire the engine you're making a demand on the battery.

It makes sense that
leaving the engine running will use a bit more fuel and that's why modern cars,
even quite simple ones, will often now include start-stop technology that turns
the engine off when the car stops.However, anyone with start-stop knows that
the system will turn the engine on again to recharge the battery. So it's not
as simple as just turning the engine off when you stop.

There's also the
environmental impact to consider. We've argued that drivers of cars with
stop-start technology should be exempt from congestion charge in cities.Richard
Seymour, spokesman for Toyota and Lexus, said: The start-stop systems in our
cars monitor a number of things within the car to determine whether it's safe
to switch the engine off.Some drivers tell us they think something is wrong
because the engine hasn't stopped when the car has stopped, but the system will
measure things like temperature of the engine and the voltage of the battery to
check that it is safe to switch off.If the engine is too cold or the battery too
low, or if safety checks like the doors being closed aren't in place, then the
system won't work.

We wouldn't recommend
drivers turn off their engine at every stop in traffic if they don't have a
start-stop system. Modern cars may have brake systems that rely on the engine
to create a vacuum that makes the brakes work more efficiently.If the you know
you'll be stationary for a while it's worth it, but stopping the engine for
very short periods gives negligible benefits.